Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Carroll.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
This story begins on a clear, end of winter day, you know the kind, where it’s perfectly crisp and you feel alive like the spirits have all awoken at once and fill your soul with electricity. This story also begins with frustration, a bit of a ying/yang start, as the idea of the same old brewpub model yet again showcasing chicken wings, burgers, fries and ranch dipping sauce made me think, “haven’t we had enough”? I thought to myself, “someone should make a brewery/restaurant that showcases upscale cuisine, a place that doesn’t have a fryer or televisions at every angle”. “Why doesn’t this exist”!? So, this begins the Band of Bohemia Experience, a two page descriptive narrative of the feel and thought of what is to become the first ever Michelin Starred Brewpub. But more was needed.
From there, Craig Sindelar and myself, discussed endlessly, planned, wrote business plan after business plan. *A note here, it would seem that every person that views a business plan has their own intuitive thought as to what it should entail. So, by the fifth year, we had a very sizable business plan complete with every possible scenario an investor might look for and make his/her decision on whether or not to invest in such a venture. In the end, we found some investors who quickly glanced at the final numbers and said, “yes this sounds like a great idea”.
The basic concept of Band of Bohemia is we brew beer with unconventional ingredients that are culinary focused, and then pair several food items to go along with the beer. I like to think of it as a reverse engineering for pairings. We had always wanted to have a great cocktail program, a dynamite wine list, a coffee and tea program that actually takes them seriously, and some of the best service you can find on the planet. We also searched for a space that made sense for what we are looking to accomplish. Something industrial with lots of open, airy space, but with a really comfortable and cozy feel.
The name Band of Bohemia comes from the ideals of the turn of the century (1900’s) Parisian Bohemians, the artists, musicians, poets, etc. that believed in their craft and art above all else. From there everything else will fall into place. To quote the greatest band of all time…”Without love in a dream, it will never come true”. Thank you, Jerry Garcia.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Well, as it took us five and half years to come to fruition, we have had our fair share of obstacles and challenges. The first being the idea of finding investors. How does one go about this exactly? Who do you know that has money? I mean a lot of money? And is willing to gamble it on a restaurant/brewery? I have no idea how anything in the world gets done. We got lucky, even though it took us a very long time to find our place. Challenge #1 complete. The City of Chicago. I can write a book on how difficult it is to get anything done with the current system that is in place here in Chicago. But that’s not for me fix or complain too much about. We navigated through the process to come out the other side a bit weary but with the accomplishment of essentially doing the impossible. Liquor license, bank issues, investor issues, city issues, finger printing (easier said than done), construction issues, plumbing, electrical issues, flooring issues, brewery issues, ceiling issues, landlord issues. And we hadn’t even opened our doors yet.
Fun fact, when you own brewpub, there’s this little known law that states that once you get your liquor license you can sell any liquor. But you can not serve the beer that you have manufactured. That is a state of Illinois issue. We couldn’t serve our beer for the first two weeks. We could serve other breweries beers. But not our own. That was a funny one.
And then you have the endless challenge of owning and operating a restaurant and brewery. Separately, both are extremely difficult. Combined…still extremely difficult.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are the first American brewpub to be honored with a prestigious Michelin star. We brew all of our own beers in -house at our brewhouse, and then create our menu around the beers.
What are your plans for the future? What are you looking forward to or planning for – any big changes?
The future? Maintaining what we have created. Other than that, we hope to eventually open up something else. Be it beer related or not, we don’t know, but we have a few ideas up our sleeves.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4710 N RAVENSWOOD AVE, CHICAGO, IL, 60640
- Website: bandofbohemia.com
- Phone: (773) 271-4710
- Email: info@bandofbohemia.com
- Instagram: @bandofbohemia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bandbohemiachicago/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf
- Twitter: @bandofbohemia
Image Credit:
Meghan Leigh Photography (only on food/beverage photos)
